Free Science and Sorcery by Christopher Nuttall Page B

they’d been training for years, yet he had the feeling that he’d barely scratched the surface of what was possible.  The mana levels, Harrow had said, weren’t high enough to support some of the greater acts magicians had carried out in the forgotten past, but it was only a matter of time.  Calvin was already planning his personal tower.  “And now, I suggest that you have some fun with your new spells.  Just remember to be careful how you use them.”
     
    She snapped her fingers and the dream vanished.  Calvin jerked upright in bed, suddenly very aware that he was tired.  A quick glance at his watch revealed that it was 4am, and yet he was utterly exhausted, mentally if not physically.  His head was spinning and, now he was fully awake, he could sense the mana flowing through the air.  In a way, the ebb and flow of mana was almost beautiful. 
     
    It had happened.  He had no doubt of it, not after remembering what had happened to Moe.  Mana was real, magic was real and Harrow, his tutor, was real.  Oddly, he felt a spurt of affection and respect for Harrow that he had never felt for any other teacher, even the one who had taught him how to read.  Perhaps it was receiving her full attention, or perhaps it was because she actually made sense .  Few of his other teachers had been so capable.
     
    He was tired, but somehow he managed to pull himself out of bed and stagger into the bathroom, driven by an urge to test out at least one of the new spells.  Closing and locking the door, he turned on the light and poured water into the sink.  Harrow had warned him that the spell required concentration and a small amount of mana , but unlike some of the other spells it wasn't prone to damaging anything if it failed.  Carefully, he dipped one finger in the water and closed his eyes, concentrating on a single thought.  When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking down into Marie’s bedroom.  A shiver ran down his spine as he realised that he’d succeeded, completely.  He was living one of his dreams.
     
    Marie had been one of the girls he'd known from elementary school, but she’d barely even known he'd existed.  She had a reputation for having done everything a girl could do at high school, rumours that Calvin had been quite prepared to believe.  Like far too many girls, she had fawned over the football jocks and acted as though they were gods on Earth.  He peered into the bowl and caught his breath as he saw her tossing and turning in her bed.  Her nightgown covered her breasts and groin, but he saw enough of her legs to know that rumours didn't lie.  She was enchantingly beautiful.
     
    Calvin felt his heartbeat racing as he stared at her, feeling lust and desire burning their way through his mind.  It was suddenly very hard to think clearly as Marie twisted, exposing her upper thigh and the lower half of her bum to his gaze.  The blood in his brain washed elsewhere, just before she moved again and her nightgown slipped, exposing a nipple.  Calvin lost concentration completely and felt the spell dissolve into nothingness.  The water in the sink was steaming slightly, hot enough to scald someone if they plunged a hand into it, but otherwise there were no signs of what he had done.  No one would ever know what he had done.
     
    Carefully, he pulled out the plug and allowed the water to drain, before creeping back to his bedroom and climbing into bed.  The tiredness had returned in force, urging him to sleep, even though visions of Marie’s body were dancing in front of his eyes.  It was easy to believe that the jocks had seen more of her, but he found it hard to care.  There would be time enough for exploring the rest of her body later.
     
    Smiling, he drifted off to sleep.  There were the other spells he wanted to try, including some that promised to be even more fun.  Who knew what would happen in the morning?

Chapter Seven
     
    Washington DC, USA
    Day 6
     
    Golem looked down at